Crane.



KENDALL.

CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. 1913.

Patented May 15, 1917.

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INVENTOR L 4 ala/M Ky I n'NE ssEs m: NnRRls PETERS co" Pnomuma, wAsnmcmn, A:v c.

0. KENDALL.

CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. I913- Patented May 15, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR ITNESSE farm a. WW

D. KENDALL.

CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. I913.

Patentad May1l5, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR WITNESSES Q WM'W k a. WW

"I: NGRRIS PETERS R1. PNO 70417740.. WASHING I'IJMIv D. L

UNTTED @TATEd PATENT @Fldllfl DAVID KENDALL, OF ALLIANCE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALLIANCE MACHINE COM- PANY, 0F ALLIANCE, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CRANE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID KENDALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alliance, in the county of Stark and ,State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cranes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is an end view of a gauntree crane embodyingmy invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are detail sectional views of the locking device, Fig. 3 being taken on the line II1.III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view on a larger scale, partly in section and partly in elevation of the locking device;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the automatic cut-out and Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical features of the invention.

My invention has relation to cranes, and more particularly to locking mechanism for gauntree cranes. In large structures of this kind, it has happened that by reason of high winds, the crane runs away and, owing to the high speed which it acquires, comes against the stops at the end of the crane runway with sufficient force to overturn itself. For this and otherreasons, it is desirable to provide means of simple and effective character by means of which the crane bridge may be instantly locked to the track. My invention provides a device of this character which can be operated from the operators cab. It also provides means for automatically controlling the operation of the locking device, and thereby stop the locking motor after the brakes are released. The invention still further consists in the provision of means whereby the operator, after throwing the locking device into operation, is prevented from starting the motor which controls the travel of the crane until he has first thrown such device out of operation.

The nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown the preferred embodiment thereof and which Serial No. 800,757.

will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims, ,5

In these drawings, the numeral 2 designates the bridge of a gauntree crane, 3 the supporting legs thereof, 1 the track rails of the runway upon which the crane travels, 5 the motor for controlling the crane, and (3 the actuating gearing driven by the motor. 8 is the trolley mounted for travel on the bridge, and 9 is the operators cage or cab. l/Vhile in the present instance, this cage or cab is carried by the trolley, it may be mounted on the bridge. The parts as thus far described are of the usual well known character and form no part of the present invention.

On one of the legs 3 of the crane, and preferably on the connecting cross bar 3 thereof, 1 support a suitable frame 10, upon which is mounted an electric motor 11. The shaft of this motor is connected by the pinion 12 and gear wheel 13 with a rotary shaft 14-, which is suitably ournaled on said frame. This shaft has threaded end portions 15, each of which engages a traveling nut 16, and these nuts are each provided with trunnions 17, on which are mounted rollers 18, working between the top and bottom guides 19. The purpose of these rollers and guides is to constrain the motion of the nuts in a line substantially parallel to the axis of the shaft 14:, and also to provide for the thrust of the connecting bars 20. These bars 20 are loosely pivoted on the trunnions 17 and carry rods or shafts 21 at their lower ends upon which the brake shoes 22 are pivotally mounted. These shoes are guided vertically by the guides 23.

When the motor 11 is in operation, the two nuts 16 will be caused to travel toward each other, and consequently, the shoes 22 are moved downwardly with great force into contact with the track rails 41:. Consequently, the entire crane bridge can not move without overcomlng the great shdlng friction between these shoes and the rail, and

master controllers located in the crane cab and by magnetic controllers located near the motors. This, however, is not essential, as the crane may be operated by means of ordinary controllers located entirely in the cab. In this diagram, (to designate the main feed wires, 6 b the bridge wires, and c 0 the locking wires. M C is the master con troller for the bridge motor, and M C is the master controller for the locking motor 11. G is the magnetic controller for the bridge motor and G is the magnetic controller for the locking motor. These master controllers are located in the cab. The details of these controllers, together with the details of the controllers C Cform no part of the present invention, since any suitable type of controller may be employed. Therefore, they will not be described in detail.

The solenoid switches of the controller C in the power circuits of the motor 11 are normally open. By throwing the master controller M C to the right or left, one or the other of the solenoid switches is energized and closed, to drive the motor in a direction to apply or release the brakes.

In order to stop the locking motor 11 when the brakes have been released, I provide a cut-out for the locking motor. This cut-out is shown as consisting of a pivoted lever 24. Journaled to one arm of the lever 24 is a track roller 26. The opposite arm has a contact 27 which when the track roller 26 is disengaged is held against the fixed contact 28 by means of a compression spring 25. The contact 27 is connected through the controller C, while the contact 28 is connected through the master controller M" C, as shown in Fig. 6. 29 is a bar which is secured to one of the nuts 16 in position to be arranged to be engaged by the roller 26 and has a downwardly bent end 30. WVhen this nut travels far enough away from the center to release the locking shoe 22, the bar 29 moves under the roller 26, lifting it and separating the contacts 27 and 28. This opens the circuit through the master controller M C and the motor controller C and stops the motor 11.

As thus far described, it is possible for the operator to set the locking device and leave the crane, say for the night, and return to the crane the following morning and attempt to start it without releasing the locking device. To prevent this, I preferably' provide a cut-out device which will automatically break the circuit of the bridge motor master controller M G when the lock is set, and thus render it impossible for the operator to start said motor 5, without first releasing the look. This may be done in various ways. In the arrangement shown, the bar 29 is provided with a downwardly bent portion 31, at the opposite end from the portion 30. A second lever arm 32 is provided, said arm having a contact wheel 33 and a spring 35L The lever also carries a contact 35, which is normally held by the spring in engagement with the relatively fixed contact 36. The circuit of the bridge motor master controller M C is normally completed through these contacts 35 and 36. When, however, the locking device is set, the movement of the bar 29 causes its bent end portion 31 to engage the contact roller 33, and thus separate the contacts 35 and 36. This breaks the circuit of the motor master controller M C and the bridge motor 5 can not be operated until the locking device has been released.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those familiar with the operation of this class of cranes, since it provides a means of extremely simple and effective character by which a gauntree crane can be instantly locked to its runway and held safely in this locked position. This is preferably, although not necessarily, accomplished from the operators cab. The provision of means for automatically stopping the movement of the locking device when it is released and the provision of the automatic cut-out for the bridge motor is also extremely advantageous.

I claim:

1. A gauntree crane having a motor mounted thereon, a shaft driven by said motor, traveling nuts engaged by said shaft, substantially vertically movable track engagement brake shoes connected to said nuts,

and guiding means for the brake shoes, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a gauntree crane, of a motor mounted thereon, a shaft geared to said motor, traveling members engaged by said shaft, guiding means for said members, and friction locking devices connected to the traveling members and movable into and out of holding engagement with the crane runway; substantially as described.

3. 'A gauntree crane having a motor mounted thereon, a shaft geared to said motor, traveling nuts engaged by said shaft, guides for the said nuts, depending bars connected to the nuts, and brake shoes carried by the bars and movable toward and 10 and means controlled by said device to autolnatically open the circuit of the propelling motor when the locking device is in operative position; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

DAVID KENDALL.

lVitnesses BESSIE lVRIeHT, L. G. YEAGLEY.

Copies of this'patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, 1). C. 

